Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Is there a feeling worse than the hole that overtakes your soul when you are craving a decadent peanut butter dessert, only to discover you are fresh out of peanut butter?

I didn’t even have any peanuts on hand to make my own (believe me, I thought of that).

And sorry, but peanut butter cravings simply cannot be quelled by almond butter (too bad, as we had upwards of 4 jars. Approaching hoarder status, I am aware).

Luckily I made up for it the next weekend. These bars have enough peanut butter for THREE weekends worth of cravings, with peanut butter, peanut butter chips, and mini peanut butter cups mixed in.

I’ll admit, I was underwhelmed after the first bite. It tasted like a slightly dry and boring peanut butter cookie. I even debated whether they were worthy of consumption by other food bloggers. If I hadn’t run out of time, I might have thrown something else together to bring to the party at the last minute.

But then I bit in to one of the center pieces, and solidified once and for all the fact that I am a soft center kind of girl. Not under-baked, but soft and chewy, with more chips and candy bits than the edges.

I’ve realized that, much like brownies, there are two kinds of bar-cookie eaters: those who like to live on the edges, all brown and crispy, and then there’s the softies like me, preferring the nearly dough-like softness that only the center-most pieces deliver.

Directions:

In a bowl, whisk together flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large bowl, combine melted butter, brown sugar and peanut butter and stir until smooth. Whisk in eggs and vanilla. Fold in dry ingredients until just incorporated, then stir in chocolate and peanut butter chips and peanut butter cups, reserving a few tablespoons of each for the top (optional, but makes for extra pretty bars).

Bake for 25 to 28 minutes or until edges are lightly browned and center is just set. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cool to room temperature before lifting out of the pan and slicing into squares, rectangles, or triangles. Bars will keep, stored in an airtight container, for up to 5 days.

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Ok so I never run out of PB for exactly the reasons you said. There’s NO substitutes!

These look absolutely incredible! Truly something RIGHT out of my dream dessert. The texture from the oats, the choc chips, the PB chips, the Pb dough, and the PB cups. Yes, yes yes! And I’ve made 1 or 2 pb desserts in my day and these get me excited! pinned!

And that shot with unbaked/baked in 1 photo. Now THAT is cool!!! Love that!

I currently have 1 opened jar of PB and 2 unopened…just in case. Never run out of peanut butter. I am totally sad for you that you had to experience this! I am totally loving this pictures and these bars. I am definitely a soft center kind of gal too and those chunks of pb cups are killing me.
Pinned!

OMG this looks AMAZEBALLS! I want to go home and bake right now. Your photos are lovely too. On my retina display it makes them look so real, I want to take a bite out of my computer. For real. I need to make these right now. YUM!

You are so right about the edgers versus the centers…and that is what makes bar cookies so appealing. Talking of appealing, the photograph with the unbaked and the baked bars side by side was amazing and the word chefmate was almost there in its entirety. Very captivating photograph.

I made these yesterday for my work crew today. They are not picky (firefighters) but they ADORED these bars!! One even told me that these are the best dessert I’ve ever made. I used all chocolate chips instead of peanut butter chips but otherwise followed the recipe exactly. They are dense, buttery, peanut butter and have an excellent texture. Thank you so much!

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Welcome to Love & Olive Oil, the culinary adventures of Lindsay and Taylor. We're all about food that is approachable but still impressive, unique and creative yet still true to its culinary roots. (More...)